Spurs notebook: Struggling Finley Searching For Shooting Stroke

[duncan228]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA032008.SpursNotebook.en.30a4a28.html

Spurs notebook: Struggling Finley searching for shooting stroke
Mike Monroe
San Antonio Express-News

Since the Spurs began their 18-game March schedule, no player has struggled with the grind more than Michael Finley.

The veteran of 12 previous seasons, who turned 35 on March 6, has made only 22 of 80 shots in the 11 games this month (27.5 percent).

Only once in those games that preceded tonight's contest in Chicago has Finley not missed more shots than he made. That was in the Spurs' last victory, a 107-103 win over Denver in which Finley made 3 of 6 shots. He has made only 6 of 24 in the last four games, all losses.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, though, had Finley back in his starting lineup for Monday's game against Boston and said he intends to keep him there for the remainder of the regular season.

Sticking with Finley as a starter might be interpreted as a vote of confidence, but Finley knows he has to battle through his shooting slump on his own.

"It's nothing the coaches can do," he said.

Finley said he feels fine and has full confidence one of the league's most fundamentally sound shooting strokes soon will produce more makes than misses.

"I'm good," he said. "I'm good."

Talking about practice: The Spurs on Wednesday conducted their first real practice session of the month before flying to Chicago for tonight's game.

"It was a day of watching film yesterday," said forward Ime Udoka, "and today, we finally got out there and scrimmaged. It was fun to do that for a change.

"When you have all those back-to-backs, obviously you don't get a chance to do a lot together as a team. But when you have two days off, it's good to give your body some rest but also mix it up and have some fun. We did some things today we did earlier in the season."

Bracketed:

Udoka said he spoke recently with Ken Bone, head coach at Portland State, where Udoka played college ball. Portland State is making its first trip to the NCAA tournament, drawing top-seeded Kansas today in Omaha, Neb., in the Midwest Regional.

"I have a bet with (former Kansas star) Jacque (Vaughn)," Udoka said, "as long as he gives me 30 points.

"They're going to go out there and compete. I talked with the coaches. I'm happy for them."

Bruce Bowen's Cal State Fullerton Titans, making their first appearance in the NCAA tournament in 30 years, also are in the Omaha sub-regional this weekend. The Titans drew Finley's alma mater, Wisconsin, in the first round.

"They've been able to accomplish something that the previous four players who are in the NBA weren't able to accomplish," said Bowen. "I'm very proud of that. I wish I could have been a part of that, but they know I'm supporting them, big-time."

[hitmanyr2k]

This is like an annual article for Finley :lol

[jmard5]

"It was a day of watching film yesterday," said forward Ime Udoka, "and today, we finally got out there and scrimmaged. It was fun to do that for a change.

"When you have all those back-to-backs, obviously you don't get a chance to do a lot together as a team. But when you have two days off, it's good to give your body some rest but also mix it up and have some fun. We did some things today we did earlier in the season."


Just what the Spurs need... rest and team practice.

They'll be fine.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

This is like an annual article for Finley :lol
:lol

too true. Last year, however, he seemed pretty worried about it. This year, "I'm good. I'm good." so he's not panicking at least.

[WalterBenitez]

I hope he recovers his touch, we will need tonite against bulls!

[Dave McNulla]

yeah, i thought somebody bumped an old thread. finley needs to quit looking for his touch and start squaring up to take his shots.

[timvp]

Hopefully Finley was just holding back or something. Hopefully he can turn it around and start playing better. The thing is though that it's not even his shot that is worrying me the most. His defense and his rebounding has been atrocious for the last month.

In December, he averaged 4.9 rebounds per game. In February, he averaged 1.6 rebounds per game. That's a staggering drop in production. Hopefully he just needs one big game to get everything back in order.

[ChuckD]

He doesn't need to find his stroke, just his balls and desire.

[whottt]

Hopefully Finley was just holding back or something. Hopefully he can turn it around and start playing better. The thing is though that it's not even his shot that is worrying me the most. His defense and his rebounding has been atrocious for the last month.

In December, he averaged 4.9 rebounds per game. In February, he averaged 1.6 rebounds per game. That's a staggering drop in production. Hopefully he just needs one big game to get everything back in order.


He could be hurt and isn't going to say anything because the Spurs need him. I could see Finley doing that.

Basically, he IS at the end, and one of these times he's going to go over the edge and not come back...might be this time, might be the next time, but he's right there at the finish line.


He's going to go Smitty on us at some point...soon...he might already have.

[mexicanjunior]

I think it is a little premature for Pop to call Finley the starter for the remainder of the season without giving Barry a look when he returns...

[MoSpur]

I think going back to that lineup is going to make a big difference. They started off awesome this season with that lineup and ended pretty good last season with that lineup.

[loveforthegame]

I think it is a little premature for Pop to call Finley the starter for the remainder of the season without giving Barry a look when he returns...

Barry is a huge spark off the bench. Not in the same way Ginobli is but I think Pop likes having those 2 guys in that role. If Finley is sucking you can easily replace him with one of them.

Here's hoping Finley finds his shot again.

[SenorSpur]

He doesn't need to find his stroke, just his balls and desire.

:lol
I think he left them both in Dallas.

[SenorSpur]

I think it is a little premature for Pop to call Finley the starter for the remainder of the season without giving Barry a look when he returns...

I would agree with you on that.

Sorry folks. I'm so worn out of writers and fans making excuses for Finley. This guy has been in the league for 12 seasons. At this stage of his career, he's reduced to simply a shooter. That's his only contribution to this team.

There ARE no excuses. Either he has it or he doesn't.

[some_user86]

I would agree with you on that.

Sorry folks. I'm so worn out of writers and fans making excuses for Finley. This guy has been in the league for 12 seasons. At this stage of his career, he's reduced to simply a shooter. That's his only contribution to this team.

There ARE no excuses. Either he has it or he doesn't.

He's streaky. You can't judge him by his slumps, only the cumulative (including when he's money, like going 8 of 9 last year in that Denver game after sucking for much of the season).

Essentially, we can't judge him until the end of the season, even if it means that it might be too late by then, because there is always the chance that he could be money again. We just gotta ride it out, and have options (Barry) on the nights that he is off.

[SenorSpur]

He's streaky. You can't judge him by his slumps, only the cumulative (including when he's money, like going 8 of 9 last year in that Denver game after sucking for much of the season).

Essentially, we can't judge him until the end of the season, even if it means that it might be too late by then, because there is always the chance that he could be money again. We just gotta ride it out, and have options (Barry) on the nights that he is off.

I understand what you're saying and you've basically illustrated my initial reservations about them bringing in Finley from the gitgo. The supposed value in bringing in a veteran is that vets are supposed to be "proven" commodities. A team is supposed to know what they're going to get from the vets on a nightly basis. One of the key reasons the Spurs are struggling is the lack of contributions from bench players. As a result, the Big Three is challenged to carry this team night in and night out.

Finley career-long streakiness makes him a game-to-game risk because you never know what you're going to get from this him. This is precisely why he wore out his welcome in Dallas.

The hypocrisy with Pop is that he'll put up with this kind of shit from a vet like Finley, Horry or someone like NVE, but his leash is so much shorter for a younger or mid-career player, many of which are often denied the chance for a roster spot or spot in the rotation.

[T Park]

Who said anything about execuses?


Hes ina slump. Sorry that you have the pateince of a damn hummingbird and can't give him a chance like last year.


Another thread to bump in the playoffs..

[SenorSpur]

Who said anything about execuses?


Hes ina slump. Sorry that you have the pateince of a damn hummingbird and can't give him a chance like last year.


Another thread to bump in the playoffs..

Feel free to stick your head in the sand all you want. If you have been paying attention, at all, to Finley's career even before he arrived here S.A., then perhaps you'd know what the hell I'm talking about. Or maybe if you'd watched a substantial number of games when he was a Mav, like I have, you wouldn't be so quick as to try and defend him.

I'm telling you that this isn't anything new with him. These prolonged slumps have been the mark of his entire career. Unlike a lot of players, Finley's good streaks are more the execption than the norm. Makes me wonder if, for him anyway, whether it's more mental than anything else.

As someone stated earlier, we have no choice than to ride it out because there are no options at this point - at least until Barry comes back anyway.

[vander]

I'm bowen's biggest detractor, but when I think of a technically perfect jump shot, I think Bowen, I love that a guy that wasn't born with a shooting touch is now one of the most consistent shooters in the league.
whenever I'm playing ball and my shots aren't falling, I envision and attempt to emulate Bowen's beautiful form, and it often works.

anyways, my point is maybe Finley needs to start taking lessons from Bowen

[T Park]

my point is maybe Finley needs to start taking lessons from Bowen


Uh no..



Feel free to stick your head in the sand all you want. If you have been paying attention, at all, to Finley's career even before he arrived here S.A., then perhaps you'd know what the hell I'm talking about. Or maybe if you'd watched a substantial number of games when he was a Mav, like I have, you wouldn't be so quick as to try and defend him.

So let me get this straight.

Its ok to use his past in Dallas, but not last year?

Got it :tu

[Mitch Cumsteen]

I don't mind Finley's shooting slump so much... I figure he'll get it together eventually, and if he doesn't, then they can bring Barry in to spread the defense. But what is driving me crazy about Finley is his lousy post passes. How freaking hard is to deliver the ball to Duncan without turning it over?

[1Parker1]

Problem with Finley is that if he's not shooting well, he's not doing much else well on the floor either.

[polandprzem]

I've always considered Finley as a guy to fill the playing time for the spurs players. If he is not contributing it's fine as long as we have gino, barry and ime.

I don't wanna say that we don't need him. We do. He can still spread the floor and is clutch (might be) with his shooting.

If Findog is out, Barry is out the spurs are out

[SenorSpur]

Problem with Finley is that if he's not shooting well, he's not doing much else well on the floor either.

Exactly the point, I've been making here for some time.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

Problem with Finley is that if he's not shooting well, he's not doing much else well on the floor either.
I couldn't knock for that, because I remember when he was thinking too much last year and Pop told him he didn't have to make the perfect. He's a scorer, he's supposed to be playmaker.

He is too one-dimensional where's virtually useless, however, it's not too much to ask him to work harder on dirty work like on rebounds and defense.
He rebounded a lot better by the playoffs, using what was left of his hops, so hopefully a little more patience is all we need with Finley.

[SenorSpur]

I couldn't knock for that, because I remember when he was thinking too much last year and Pop told him he didn't have to make the perfect. He's a scorer, he's supposed to be playmaker.

He is too one-dimensional where's virtually useless, however, it's not too much to ask him to work harder on dirty work like on rebounds and defense.
He rebounded a lot better by the playoffs, using what was left of his hops, so hopefully a little more patience is all we need with Finley.

True dat. It's almost when his shooting is off, it affects his approach to every other aspect of the game.